Presents a board game in which students pretend to be American Indians, settlers, or traders. Explains that students learn about people and life in Canada in the nineteenth century. Suggests that players will learn vocabulary, a sense of value, and bartering methods. Includes designs for the gameboard, commodity cards, and score cards. (DK)

This teacher's manual accompanies a supplementary fourth grade Virgin Islands history textbook, depicting the struggle of West African ancestors from slavery to emancipation and beyond The title of the text is the name of a freedom song used by Danish West Indian slaves in the fight for emancipation. Written from an Afro-West Indian perspective,…

Described is how a Wyoming school district developed a program that offers fourth-graders, engaged in local community studies, first-hand experience in their heritage. An exposition that featured exhibits and stations depicting contemporary and historic social and economic practices was developed. (RM)

Describes teaching children about historical documents as a way of illustrating the reasons behind U.S. government. Explains that the course examines the U.S. Constitution, Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, and Bill of Rights. Argues that children have firm opinions about fairness and justice. Describes a project comparing U.S. government with that…

Discusses teaching eighth-grade students about the Middle Ages at St. John's School in St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Explores a lesson in Montreal history offered to third- and fourth-grade students at the city's Hampstead School. Describes an environmental education unit for kindergarteners at Montreal's Edinburgh School. (DK)

Reports on an ethnographic study in which the teacher of a combined third and fourth grade class reads historical literature from the U.S. Revolutionary period to students daily for nine weeks. Finds that study of historical content through literature is appropriate at these grade levels. Reports student enthusiasm for this activity. (SLM)

This document provides lesson plans designed for teaching fourth-grade students about the religious group known as the Shakers. Preceding each of the five lessons is a list of objectives, time required, background, materials needed, classroom procedures, and suggested follow-up activities. In Lesson A, a story is read and students are asked to…

Describes a project undertaken by a fourth grade class (Columbus, Indiana) to develop a computer game about Indiana history. Advocates using computing across the curriculum in a manner similar to the writing across the curriculum project. Provides a step by step guide to the development of the game. (KO)

This 9-unit curriculum guide for 4th grade includes activities relating to the cultural and environmental history of southern Arizona, specifically the area known as the Pimeria Alta. The guide was designed by a group of teachers to be thematic and sequential, and to deal with the encounters of various cultures that are the history of the Santa…

Presents Gold Rush Day, an annual eight-week project emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach for fourth graders. Describes the preparation and implementation of the project. Includes a description of interdisciplinary learning achievements. (CFR)

Designed to provide a historically accurate look at pioneer life on the Great Plains, this guide for fourth grade teachers describes the life of the Hanson family who leave Scandinavia in the 1880's for the promise of a free quarter section of land in Nebraska. By focusing on a fictitious family representative of thousands of families that…

Recounts a student teacher's first experiences in the classroom and provides helpful commentary and suggestions from a more experienced teacher. Briefly discusses classroom management, learning styles, individual needs, time constraints, assessment, and instructional materials. Includes a list of activities that help promote an atmosphere of…

Provides an overview of the decade-long civil war in El Salvador and discusses its historical and cultural roots. Presents 14 letters, 2 poems, and 3 drawings by fourth-grade students in El Salvador that relate to the impact of war on their lives. Provides suggestions for using these letters in social studies classes. (CFR)

Argues the usefulness of timelines for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade history instruction, contending that timelines reveal history's unfolding better than fact-recall techniques. Presents ways to use timelines, including autobiographical, large display, and manipulative timelines, and combining timelines with biographies. Suggests timelines help…

Designed to provide a historically accurate look at contemporary political refugees in Nebraska, this teacher's guide traces the life of the Martinez family from their native home in Latin America, through their difficult journey to the United States, to their settlement in Omaha, Nebraska. By focusing on a fictitious family representative of…